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Social science researchers in the global South, and in South Africa particularly, utilise research methods in innovative ways in order to respond to contexts characterised by diversity, racial and political tensions, socioeconomic disparities and gender inequalities. These methods often remain undocumented – a gap that this book starts to address. Written by experts from various methodological fields, Transforming Research Methods in the Social Sciences is a comprehensive collation of original essays and cutting-edge research that demonstrates the variety of novel techniques and research methods available to researchers responding to these context-bound issues. It is particularly relevant for study and research in the fields of applied psychology, sociology, ethnography, biography and anthropology. In addition to their unique combination of conceptual and application issues, the chapters also include discussions on ethical considerations relevant to the method in similar global South contexts. Transforming Research Methods in the Social Sciences has much to offer to researchers, professionals and others involved in social science research both locally and internationally.

A "list" of social science texts that move us and continually captivate our minds and emotions.

The primary purpose of this book is to present some of the key economic concepts that have guided economic thinking in the last century and to identify which of these concepts will continue to direct economic thought in the coming decades. This book is written in an accessible manner and is intended for a wide audience with little or no formal training in economics. It should also interest economists who want to reflect on the direction of the discipline and to learn concepts and achievements in other subfields. The author imparts his enthusiasm for the economic way of reasoning and its wide applicability. Through the abundant use of illustrations and examples, the author makes concepts understandable and relevant. Topics covered include game theory, the new institutional economics, market failures, asymmetric information, endogenous growth theory, general equilibrium, rational expectations, and others

In the social sciences, the development of a specific social event or structure is often explained by a statistical correlation between an independent variable and a variable assumed to be dependent upon it. This mode of explanation is contested by a methodology of causal reconstruction that operates with the concept of mechanisms. A mechanism is a process in which a set of linked steps leads from initial conditions to an outcome or effect. Mechanisms are general concepts, subjecting individual cases to a general category. Except for the literature dealing specifically with the concept, the term "mechanism" is often used without definition of its substantive content; there is no agreement with respect to the unique or plural character of the initial conditions, nor to the structure of the causal path leading to a specific outcome. Nevertheless, mechanisms have played a crucial role in detailed causal analysis of complex historical events, such as the financial crisis of 2008 and German unification of 1989.

Die Allgemeine Bevölkerungsumfrage der Sozialwissenschaften (ALLBUS) ist eine Trenderhebung, in der seit 1980 alle zwei Jahre eine Zufallsstichprobe der deutschen Bevölkerung befragt wird. Das primäre Ziel des Umfrageprogramms ist die Beobachtung von Einstellungen, Verhalten und sozialen Wandel in Deutschland. Jede ALLBUS-Querschnittserhebung besteht aus ein oder zwei Schwerpunktmodulen zu wechselnden Themen. Diese werden ergänzt durch weitere inhaltliche Fragen und ein Kernmodul mit detaillierten demografischen Informationen. Zudem werden Zusatzinformation zum Interview und den Interviewern bereitgestellt. Die Schwerpunktmodule folgen in der Regel einem 10-jährigen Replikationszyklus, viele Einzelindikatoren und Itembatterien werden aber auch in kürzeren Abständen repliziert.

Seit Mitte der 1980er Jahre werden zusammen mit ALLBUS auch regelmäßig ein oder zwei Module des ISSP (International Social Survey Programme) erhoben.

Der Schwerpunkt des ALLBUS/GGSS 2000 liegt in der Replikation von Fragen aus einem weiten Spektrum von Themen aus dem bisherigen ALLBUS-Programm (u.a. zu sozialer Ungleichheit, Politik, Religion, sozialen Netzwerken und abweichendem Verhalten). Neben den replizierten Fragen wurden neu konzipierte Fragen zu den Bereichen Kinderwunsch und ökonomischen Befindlichkeiten und Perzeptionen erstmals erhoben. Schließlich enthält der Datensatz auch die ISSP-Module "Umwelt II" und "Soziale Ungleichheit III". ALLBUS/GGSS 2000 (Integrierte Version) enthält die kombinierten Daten aus der CAPI-Hauptstudie und der methodologischen PAPI-Begleitstudie.

Antonio Gramsci's work, primarily Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci (1971), is drawn on to examine the place of the social sciences in society, their connection with economic interest, & the extent of autonomy they enjoy. Following Gramsci, an effort is made to tie the social sciences to ideology & to identify their major social functions. Gramsci's claim that the general function of the intellectual is to give a particular class self-consciousness is discussed, & it is argued that Gramsci's work is best viewed as a project for radical social change rather than one for social regulation. Gramsci's views on social science methodology are briefly discussed, along with his conception of ideology. 1 Photograph, 18 References. W. Howard